The author, Ricardo Cravero is a Chemical Engineer with a degree in Chemistry and a Technology Outreach and Management specialist from Universidad Nacional del Litoral – Santa Fe, Argentina. He has a PhD in industrial engineering and a master’s degree in quality engineering from Universidad Nacional del Litoral – Santa Fe, Argentina. He has worked in the private sector as Manager of the Industrial Area. He was also responsible for developing the Research and Development Department of SanCor Cooperativas Unidas Limitada. Currently, he works as a consultant in Innovation Management and Process Improvement for companies. Additionally, he is a Postgraduate Teacher in Innovation, Technology and Tools for Process Improvement. He also collaborates with Alpha Solutions Food and Ingredients Srl, Italy. info@alpha-solutions.it

In a competitive global landscape, dairy companies must enhance their production and market performance to survive and evolve. Various factors contribute to improving sustainable competitiveness. Among these, the mitigation of physical losses or waste is of utmost importance. These losses encompass a range of factors, such as raw materials, packaging, products, natural resources (water and energy), human resources, and other inputs and services. Economically, these losses represent at least 3% of what is invoiced at production level, where losses in the Argentine Milk Value Chain (CVLA) average 5%, or 250 million dollars annually, at least in the years 2018 and 2019.

The initial literature search reveals that the senior management stewardship is a crucial factor in leading change processes. Consequently, various international programs aimed at reducing waste, such as Cleaner Production and Eco-Efficiency, have failed to achieve the expected impact. The United Nations 2030 Agenda currently advocates for the rational use of economic, environmental, and social resources, which affects the future of organizations. Therefore, this framework requires sustainable business models under the Triple Bottom Line approach.

In his doctoral thesis, the author of this note proposes to resolve the gap between senior management and the handling of physical losses in the dairy value chain. At this aim, he suggests a new inductive methodology called MIAD (Inductive Method to Senior Management), represented in Figure 1. This methodology would enable senior management to make better decisions using tools derived from Lean Manufacturing Thinking (Value Stream Map, improvement cycle), Process Optimization (Flow Diagrams, Cause-Effect, Pareto principle), and the implementation of Key Performance Indicators. The study covers the entire national dairy value chain, including milk reception, industrial transformation, and distribution to clients.

Figure 1 – MIAD, Inductive Method to Senior Management.

In the initial phase of applying the methodology, improvement results were obtained in all cases. By extrapolating the results obtained from the three studied companies to the entire sample size, it is estimated that a saving of approximately 15 million dollars per year can be achieved with an initial investment of 1.4 million dollars.

The relevance of the thesis concerns a proposed methodology that identifies opportunities to reduce material losses in the dairy value chain. This methodology involves combining internal data and inputs from specialists and targeting management actions. Each company can subsequently choose an action plan that prioritizes its results while requiring the least possible investment and enabling it to optimize the economic, environmental, and social sustainability. With a more holistic approach, this methodology can be employed to include farmers, consumers, or other areas within the value chain.

Bibliography

Cravero,R. A., Capobianco-Uriarte M. M., Casado-Belmonte M. P. (2021). Rethinking the Physical Losses Definition in Agri-Food Chains from Eco-Efficiency to Circular Economy. In: Mor R.S., Panghal A., Kumar V. (eds) Challenges and Opportunities of Circular Economy in Agri-Food Sector. Environmental Footprints and Eco-design of Products and Processes. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-3791-9_6.

Capobianco Uriarte M. M., Cravero R.A., RegodesebesA., Grabois M., and Casado Belmonte M. P. (2022). Research Trends and Innovation Perspectives about Sustainability and Agri-Food 4.0. In:Agri-Food 4.0: Innovations, Challenges and Strategies, Vo:27. Emerald.

Documents presented in conferences with referees:

 

1- Caracterización de las pérdidas físicas en la cadena de valor láctea Argentina: Oportunidades y desafíos (https://doi.org/10.33414/ajea.5.660.2020). AJEA-UTN. Argentina,2020.

2- Eco-Eficiencia en la cadena de valor láctea Argentina. Encuentro Argentino y Latinoamericano de Ingeniería CADI / CLADI / CAEDI. Argentina,2021.

3- Methodological proposal to identify the physical losses in the Argentinean dairy value chain. Indian Academicians and Researchers Association. India, 2021.

4- S-Value-stream mapping como herramienta para agregar sustentabilidad a la Cadena de Valor Láctea Argentina. Latitud – Fundación LATU. Uruguay, 2021.

5- Optimización de la ecoeficiencia en la industria láctea Argentina. Asociación Científica de Economía y Dirección de la Empresa – Universidad de Almería. España, 2021.

Other documents:

 

1-KALDOR’S SQUARE, A SYNTHETIC METHODOLOGY FOR MEASURING CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY. 16th annual International Technology, Education and Development Conference- INTED 2022. 7 y 8 de marzo.

2-El desafío del desarrollo sostenible en el sector de agro-alimentos 4.0: Pérdidas de aguas blancas en el sector lácteo. I ENCUENTRO INTERSECTORIAL SOBRE INNOVACIÓN Y CALIDAD EN LA ALIMENTACIÓN (EIICA 2021) – Universidad de Lanús. Argentina, 2021.

3- Caracterización de la sustentabilidad en la cadena de valor láctea Argentina: Oportunidades y Desafíos. I ENCUENTRO INTERSECTORIAL SOBRE INNOVACIÓN Y CALIDAD EN LA ALIMENTACIÓN (EIICA 2021)- Universidad de Lanús. Argentina, 2021.